Rainy Days
by Lisnuggles
Summary: A natural disaster brings Rory and Jess a little bit closer. Please read
1. Default Chapter

"Geez, it got nasty out!" Rory Gilmore exclaimed as she rushed into Luke's Diner. Glancing up Jess Mariano laughed, "You know normal people either drive, carry an umbrella, or stay in doors when its down pouring." Rolling her eyes Rory gave him a duh look, "it wasn't raining when I left the house." She then started pulling her sweatshirt over her head. "Uh, Rory, I know you can't resist me but this is not the time or place for that, Luke could come back at anytime," Jess said with his usual smirk. Tossing her sweatshirt over a nearby chair Rory stood shivering in a drenched tank top and jeans, "Oh the rain soaked through! Can I borrow something and put this stuff in the dryer? And then you can give me some coffee, for that comment you just made." Giving Rory an appreciative once over Jess started upstairs glancing back to make sure Rory was following. Once upstairs Jess disappeared into his room and came out holding a pair of sweatpants and a Metallica t-shirt. "Why don't you jump in the shower to get th chill out of you," Jess said handing Rory his clothes. "Oh, good idea," Rory replied grabbing the clothes and heading for the bathroom.  
  
Twenty minutes later Rory finally emerged from the bathroom. In order to successfully walk she had had to roll the waistband of Jess' sweatpants up a few times. "Where should I put my wet clothes?" Rory asked startling Jess who had been watching television. Pointing towards the kitchen Jess replied, "Dryers in there," without glancing up from the television. After throwing her clothes in the dryer Rory came back and sat in the recliner glancing at Jess. "What are you watching?" "Ummm..we've got a problem. Luke called, appearantly a tornado is coming so he's stuck at the Inn with your mom and your stuck here." Jess answered distracted as he watched the weather report. "What do you mean a tornado?" Rory exclaimed moving to get a better look at the newscast. "Oh my god," she whispered watching the storm rip through Hartford. "Okay first we need to get candles and flashlights, from the looks of it the brunt of the storm is heading in our direction," Jess said as he went to the kitchen and started looking through drawers. "Rory, why don't you go downstairs to the diner and see what you can find there." Tearing her eyes away form the television Rory looked up at Jess' calm face. "Okay, I'll be back," she said making her way downstairs.  
  
As soon as Rory stepped out of sight Jess' calm exterior faded, mumbling to himself as he opened drawer after drawer, "A tornado, a frickin tornado. That's great, just great. Cuz I know what to do when a tornados on the way," just as he was going to collect what he could in Luke's room Jess heard the sound of glass breaking and Rory scream. Dashing downstairs he found rain pouring in through a broken window and Rory huddled behind the counter. Quickly shielding himself from flying objects he ran to Rory, "Are you okay?" Checking her as best he could Jess seemed satisfied that she wasn't hurt. "Come on we've gotta get upstairs before something else breaks a window." Helping Rory up they ran to the stairs just as a chair toppled into the wall.  
  
As soon as they had entered the apartment the lights went out. Due to the lack of windows in the living room and kitchen the place was completely dark. "Jess?" Rory asked timidly. "I'm right here," Jess answered from behind her. Grabbing her hand Jess pulled her towards the kitchen. "I left the flashlight and candles in the kitchen," he said as he felt his way towards the kitchen. 


	2. Destruction

As soon as they had entered the apartment the lights went out. Due to the lack of windows in the living room and kitchen the place was completely dark. "Jess?" Rory asked timidly. "I'm right here," Jess answered from behind her. Grabbing her hand Jess pulled her towards the kitchen. "I left the flashlight and candles in the kitchen," he said as he felt his way towards the kitchen.  
  
"Ow! Damn it," Jess muttered as he ran into the couch.  
  
"Jess?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm really scared."  
  
Grabbing the flashlight off the counter Jess turned around and looked at her in the harsh light of the beam, "Yeah I know, so am I," he admitted. "So has that school of yours ever taught you how to deal with tornados?"  
  
"Ummm..well they're more into teaching us what a triangle equals, not really any useful survival tactics. I think though during a tornado or earthquake or something you're supposed to stand in a doorway or get under a table or something."  
  
"Okay so which one should we do?" Jess asked just as something came crashing through his bedroom window sending a gust of wind and rain through the opening. "Uh..I think it may be wise if we got under the table to keep safe from flying objects."  
  
"Good idea," Rory exclaimed as a book came flying past her head. She quickly crawled under the kitchen table as Jess followed her.  
  
After a few minutes without either one of them saying a word Rory looked at Jess and laughed, "I'm bored."  
  
Hiding a smile Jess replied, "Only you could be bored while the building comes down around us and a natural disaster is ripping the town apart."  
  
"I know! Is that wrong of me?" Rory asked innocently.  
  
Glancing at her Jess took the flashlight and started making animal shapes on the kitchen floor. Rory laughed, "See you're obviously bored too." Rory jumped when they heard more glass breaking and what sounded like a train running through Luke's room. Fully aware that when she had jumped she had grabbed a hold of Jess she looked at him embarrassed, "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay. We're both a little freaked." Another loud crash made the two teens jump into each other's arms. Rory glanced at him, "Maybe it would be better if we just stayed this way."  
  
Surprised at how forward she had been Jess had to agree. Trying to distract her from the noises that they heard Jess started asking her questions about her childhood. Within a couple minutes Jess could feel her start to drift asleep. Letting her sleep he held her for nearly an hour before Luke and Lorelai came crashing through the door.  
  
"Rory!!" Lorelai yelled. "Jess!!" Luke yelled.  
  
"We're over here," Jess answered as he woke Rory up. Still groggy from her nap Rory almost jumped up when she heard her mom at the last second she remembered that she was under the table. Crawling out from under the table she flew into her mother's arms, "Oh my god! I was soooo scared. Are you okay mom?"  
  
Standing up Jess watched the pair wishing he had someone who cared about him that much. Without warning Luke pulled him into a hug. "Thank god you two are okay. When we saw the downstairs we were almost afraid to come up here," Luke said as he let go of Jess.  
  
Embarrassed by the display of affection the two men just looked at each other. Jess smiled slowly, "It's okay Uncle Luke. We're fine." Nodding Luke walked off briskly to survey the damage done to the apartment. Emotions made him rather uncomfortable.  
  
Disentangling herself from her mother Rory stepped over to Jess, "Are you okay?"  
  
Not trusting his voice he simply nodded.  
  
"Jess, I want to thank-you for keeping Rory safe," Lorelai said stepping over to him. "Don't look so surprised. From time to time I give credit where credit is due."  
  
Stepping back into the room after taking a look at the damage in his and Jess' room Luke looked at the weird expression on his nephew's face. "Well it looks like the most damage actually happened to the diner."  
  
"How bad is it?" Jess asked.  
  
"Oh my god," Rory whispered taking in the destruction to the diner. Tree limbs had taken out every single window. Looking outside she could see a few tables and chairs in the middle of the road. There was debris strewn through out the diner and on the counter. It would take at least a good day just to clean up the inside let alone repair the windows. Glancing at her mom Rory asked, "What does our house look like?" "I don't know honey. We came straight here. After seeing this though I'm a little afraid to find out." 


	3. It's over

"Do you see what I see?" Lorelai asked Rory, Luke, and Jess.  
  
"It's our house and it's still standing!" exclaimed Rory as she ran up the stairs and into the house.  
  
"It looks like the only window that broke is the front one here." Luke said looking closely at the spider web crack.  
  
"Yeah but we should probably check every single one," Lorelai replied stepping up next to Luke to check the window.  
  
While the adults were discussing windows, Jess slipped by them and wordlessly entered the house. Heading for Rory's room he found her sitting on her bed hugging her knees with her back towards him. Glancing around her room everything seemed to still be in its original place and indeed the window even looked to be okay. "Well it looks like I'll have to borrow your books while mine dry out," Jess laughed as he entered her room.  
  
Jumping Rory nearly fell off the bed as she whirled around swiping at her eyes. "God Jess! Scare the crap out of me why don't you."  
  
"Sorry," glancing at her Jess could tell that she had been crying. "Hey what's wrong?"  
  
Looking at the floor she replied, "Nothing."  
  
"No, you were crying. What's up?" Jess asked as he moved to sit on her bed.  
  
Glancing up at him Rory was aware that she was standing directly in front of him in between his legs. Taking a step back Rory answered, "I was just thinking about what we would do if the house had been destroyed. I mean did you see the neighbor's house the whole one side was like missing. What if that happened to our house?" Shrugging her shoulders she rolled her eyes, "I know it sounds stupid. It just freaked me out cuz you know this is all my mom and I have."  
  
Before she could turn away Jess reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her between his legs. "Its okay to be freaked out. A tornado just went sailing through the town picking which houses it wanted to destroy. That's rather freaky. And I know you Rory your feeling guilty because your glad that it was someone else's house and not your own. That's only natural and it's okay to feel that way," Jess responded slowly rubbing his thumb over her hand.  
  
Cocking her head at him Rory asked, "How do you know what I'm thinking and feeling all the time?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders he answered, "The same way you know what I'm thinking and feeling."  
  
Before she could respond her cell phone started ringing. Looking at the caller ID she saw that it said Dean's Cell. Sighing she answered her phone, "Hello?" Turning her back on Jess she continued the conversation with her boyfriend. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are things over there?" Rory asked.  
  
"A tree came down in the yard and we have a few broken windows and stuff. After I help out here do you want any help cleaning up over there?"  
  
"Actually there really isn't anything to clean up other then the front window. I was actually going to head back over to Luke's and help clean up the diner. It's a complete mess."  
  
"How do you already know that Luke's is a mess?" Dean asked with a hint of accusation in his voice.  
  
Realizing that there was no way to backpedal and get out of the argument that she knew would be coming Rory decided to tell Dean the truth she was tired of keeping things from him to avoid an argument. "Actually when the tornado hit I was at the diner with Jess, and before you ask yes we were alone." Rory then whirled around and looked at Jess who had been reclining on her bed listening to her end of the conversation.  
  
"Well I guess that I shouldn't have been worried about my girlfriend since she was with another guy," Dean yelled into the phone.  
  
Looking at Jess Rory realized how different she and Dean were and how right she and Jess were together. Before she thought too much about what to say to Dean she just let her emotions do the talking, "You know what Dean, I am so tired of hiding my friendship with Jess from you. You obviously can't trust me and don't give me the crap that you can't trust him cuz that's just another way of saying that you don't trust me. Jess and I have a lot in common and you know what it's gotten to the point that I'd rather spend my time with him then you. I mean do you even know me at all? Forget it I already know that answer so you know what I'm gonna save us some trouble and yelling and end it now. Have a good life and leave me alone. Goodbye!" Rory calmly hung up the phone and then threw her cell phone under her bed. "Freakin jerk!" she yelled forgetting that Jess was in the room.  
  
Afraid to move hoping that what he had just heard wasn't a dream Jess slowly sat up on Rory's bed. "Ummm..are you okay?"  
  
With her hands on her hips Rory turned her glare over to Jess. "No I'm not okay. I'm pretty sure I just broke up with my boyfriend of 2 years. And I know I just hurt him terribly, which is something that I did not want to do. Everything just got all complicated since you moved here. So you know what I'm blaming you Jess. This is all your fault. It's your fault I just lost it on Dean and it's your fault that I fell for you," mid jab to Jess' chest Rory stopped realizing what she had just said.  
  
"What did you just say?" Jess asked unsure if he had heard her correctly.  
  
"Oh my god," Rory whispered backing against the wall. "I..uh..didn't mean that."  
  
Slowly moving off the bed to stand in front of her Jess forced her to look at him. "No you just said what I think you said and I'm not letting you out of it. You fell for me?"  
  
Rolling her eyes Rory answered, "Yeah, so?"  
  
"So? Do you know how long I've been waiting for that? Since the day I came to this god-forsaken town all I've wanted is the one thing that I couldn't have. And now I can have you," Jess whispered the last part as he slowly leaned into kiss her.  
  
Letting herself go Rory melted into his arms. * Oh my god this is really happening Jess is really kissing me * Smiling into the kiss Rory turned her head and broke the kiss. Jess however kept right on kissing her cheek and her neck. Giggling Rory tried stepping away but Jess kept a hold on her. "Jess...stop. I want to talk to you." Jess stopped but he still held her against the wall. Glancing at her he waited to hear what she had to say. "So uh..I don't know. Does this mean that you want to be with me?" Rory asked blushing.  
  
"If you'll have me," Jess answered.  
  
Smiling she looked into his eyes and responded with a kiss that lasted until they heard Lorelai and Luke calling their names.  
  
*A/N- Thanks for the reviews guys. I really appreciate them!! 


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